MUSTANG, Okla. — The president of a popular arts and crafts chain has presented a proposal for an elective Bible course to be taught at a public high school in Oklahoma.
Steve Green, the president of Hobby Lobby, was recently invited by Mustang School District Superintendent Sean McDaniel to give a presentation at a school board meeting about the proposed class at Mustang High School.
“A state law that passed several years ago made a provision for public school districts to offer an elective course through social studies or through the English department called ‘The Bible in the Curriculum,’” McDaniel told the Mustang Times. “We thought it was very intriguing and wanted to see what this kind of curriculum might offer.”
According to reports, Green, an evangelical Christian, explained to those present that he would like to offer an introductory course on “the Old and New Testament’s impact on society.” Three other advanced courses would also be available for interested students.
Green hopes to expand the curriculum to educational institutions worldwide.
“We have a list of universities that we are working with today all over the world,” he said. “We want to find the leading scholars to help us and we will be pulling from this group to help write this curriculum and it will tie to the three parts we want to teach.”
“With the history, we want to show the archeological evidences of the Bible and then we want to show the impact of the Bible,” Green continued. “The Bible has had an impact on just about every area of life, whether you like it or not, it has. It has impacted government, education, art, science, literature, you name it. Thirdly, is the story, meaning what does the book say.”
As previously reported, Green is simultaneously working on opening a museum in Washington, D.C., which will also focus on the Bible and similar artifacts. Last month, the entrepreneur announced that he had obtained “the oldest Jewish prayer book ever found” and would add it to the D.C. collection. The Greens have over 40,000 pieces to their name, which they began collecting in 2009.
“We didn’t buy them because we’re collectors; we bought them because we wanted to tell the Bible story,” he told the Baptist Press. “The material we have to make a museum with trumps any museum that’s there [in D.C.]. Our story is the most incredible story to be told.”
Portions of the Dead Sea scrolls, a historic translation of the Psalms to Middle English, tracts from the reformer Martin Luther and a copy of John Wycliffe’s New Testament are all expected to be included.
For now, many of the items are on tour in a traveling exhibit known as “Passages.”
As far as the Oklahoma Bible curriculum, Green is expected to make another presentation before the Mustang School District in January. The course must go up for a vote, as well as a curriculum committee, before ultimately being approved.
Photo: The Green Collection